Nailing machine



Oct. 20, 1936. A. PROLCHIETTE 2,058,034

NAILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 10', 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 oct'. 20, 1936, A,ROCHIE' TE 2,058,034

NAILING MACHINE F'iied Dec. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 20, 1936. J.A. PROCHIETTE 2,053,034

NAILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Shet 5 1 mum m PatentedOct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in nailing machines andparticularly to a portable machine for nailing the hardwood flooringsuperimposed on a primary fioor;

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a machine thatis eificient in operation, inexpensive of manufacture, and one that willwithstand long continued service.

With further objects and purposes in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood. that changes in the preciseembodiment of. the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a nailingmachine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a cross section approximately on line 2'2' of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 isa view of an intermediate portion of the machine, partly insection, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow 3,Fig. l;

Figure 4 is a cross section on line 4'-4', Fig'. 5;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of an intermediate portion, looking in thedirection indicated by the arrow 5', Fig. l;

Figure 6 is a plan View of the intermediate portion of the nail race;

Figure 7 is a view in elevation of the positioning die;

Figure 8 is a median sectional elevation of the positioning die;

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional View of the machine head;

Figure 10 is a sectional view of the machine head and parts associatedtherewith, portions of the latter being shown in elevation;

Figure 11 is a view on line II-I I of Fig. 9;

Figure 12 is a View on line I2I2' of Fig. 10;

Figure 13 is a view generally similar to Fig. 12; but with certain partsdisposed in operatively changed positions;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the picker bar; Figure 15 is a viewin elevation of the guide plate;

Figure 16 is a vertical sectional view on line I6'--I6', Fig. 1, withthe plunger spring omitted;

Figure 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16, but with certain relativelymovable parts operatively moved into altered positions;

Figure 18 isa view approximately on line I8?- IB' of Fig. 12;

Figure 19 is a view similar to Fig. 18, but embodying a slightmodification;

Figure 20 is a plan view of the modification of the invention; and

Figure 21 is a view in elevation of the nailguiding plate, theapplication of which forming said modification.

Referring to the drawingsin stricter detail, throughout which likereference characters designate like parts: v

The numeral I designates the machine head,

WhlCh is preferably cast en bloc with the extension 2, which is T-shapedin cross section and fixedly secured to the lower end portion of thestandard 3, by means of securing bolts 4.

The standard 3, which is supported by casters 5, has its upper endformed to provide a pair of laterally spaced side plates 6, betweenwhich is fixedly secured the lower end portion of the inclined nailchute I, by means of securing bolts 8. The upper end of the chutesupports a nail hopper 9.

To the under side of the upper end portion of the. chute I are secured,by means of securing bolts ID, the upper ends of a pair of laterallyspaced nail-race plates II, intermediate portions of which being fixedlysecured to an extension I2 on the lower end of the chute I, by means ofbolts I3, while thelower ends of said plates are secured to lugs I4 bymeans of securing bolts I5.

The plates II form the inclined nail-race and between the space betweensaid plates nails deposited in the hopper 9 are intended to operativelygravitate from said hopper to the machine head I, and in so doing thenail heads are intended to slidably engage the adjacent upper surfacesof the plates and from which the shanks of the nails are suspendedbetween the plates. A slot I6 extending longitudinally along through thebottom of the forward end portion of the chute I, which slot is disposedin registration with the said space between the plates I I, permits thenails to freely gravitate from the hopper 9 through the chute I to andbetween the plates I I.

The lower end of the slot I6 is extended laterally and registersvertically with opposed cutouts I'I formed in the margins of the platesII, which extension and cut-outs form openings I8 through which refuse,defective nails, and the like, as well as regular nails that accldentlyfail to enter the space between the plates, are intended to fall and toenter the refuse bin I9, which is secured, by means of blots 2, to anintermediate portion of the standard 3.

To one side of the upper end of the standard 3 is fixedly secured ahandle 2I, by means of which the machine is intended to be moved in anydirection along on the surface of the work being nailed.

In the machine head I, between the lugs I4, is formed a recess 22, whichconverges downwards and terminates in an inclined opening 23, the lowerend of which terminates in a bore 24 extending vertically through thehead I, which said bore has its lower end enlarged diametrically andreceived thereinto the stem of a positioning die 25, which has a centralvertically extending opening 26 terminating upwards in a concavity 21formed in the upper end of said stem, which said concavity receives thelower beveled end of a plunger 28, operatively slidable in said bore,for limiting the downward movement thereof. A

driving pin 29, secured to the lower end of the plunger 28, is adaptedto move slidably through the opening 26 during the operation of themachine when the plunger is projected downwards as far as it is intendedto go.

In the upper end of the head I, at one side of the bore 24, is a notch30, and immediately therebelow a projection 3I having a verticallyextending opening 32 in which is slidably disposed the verticallyextending arm of an L-shaped member 33, the other arm of the memberbeing disposed to extend through the notch 33 with the free end thereofprojecting into a longitudinally extending groove 34 in one side of theplunger 28.

A coil spring 35 has one end secured in an opening 36 in the lower endof the member 33 and its opposite end secured in an opening 36a in aprojection 3! at the lower end portion of the head I. The spring 35 isintended to be secured under contractile tension whereby the pawlnormally is held to seat against the bottom of the notch 30. V

A coil spring 38 encircling the upper end of the plunger 28 and confinedunder yielding contraction between the upper surface of the head I andthe head 28a, of the plunger, is adapted to normally yieldingly maintainthe plunger in its uppermost position as far as the member 33 coactingwith the coil spring 35 permits it normally to go. The spring 35 isintended to contain sufficient tensible resistance to overcome any forcenormally exerted thereagainst by the spring 38, through the medium ofthe parts 28 and 33, but toyield somewhat to the tensible influence ofthe spring 38, and thereby permit the member 33 to move slightly upwardswith the upward movement of the plunger 28, after having contacted thelatter in the lower end of the groove 34, during the abrupt rebound ofsaid spring 38 and the sudden retraction of the plunger to its uppermostposition after it had been impelled downwards as far as it is intendedto go and the spring 38 had been compressed to its greatest requireddegree. This yielding of the spring 35 during the sudden upshot of theplunger 28 and spring 38, imparts a certain cushioning efi'ect to thecontact between the member 33 and the plunger. The member 33, inaddition to forming a medium of connection between the springs 35 and38, also functions for preventing rotation of the plunger 28 in the bore24.

Across the inner face side of the head I, at the margin of the recess22, is a transversely extending rabbet 40 in which is longitudinallyslidably disposed an L-shaped picker bar 4|, the horizontally extendingleg of which is disposed in close 'sli'dabl'e association with the lowerends of the plates II and has its upper surface disposed at a distancebelow the upper surface of the latter as best shown in Fig. 10, beingprovided with a nail-receiving notch 42 normally in alignment with thespace between the said plates II (Figs. 12 and 20).

A bar-retaining plate 43, secured across the inner face side of the headI by means of screwbolts 44, retains the picker bar 4| slidably in therabbet 48.

An opening 45 in one end of the bar 4| (Fig. 13) receives the free endof a pin 46 fixedly secured to the upper end of a fiat spring 41, thelower end of which is clamped against the side of the lower end portionof the head I by means of a clamping plate 48 secured by screw-bolts 49.

One side of the lower end portion of the plunger 28 is chamfered asshown in Figs. 16 and 17, and a contact ball 50, which is freely movablein an opening 5! in one side of the head I, and which ball by the normalretraction of the spring 4'! is caused to project a distance into thebore 24 when the plunger 28 is in its uppermost position (see Fig. 16),is engaged by said chamfered portion, during the downward stroke of theplunger, and forced outwards against the spring 4'4, causing the latterto resistingly yield and to be deflected outwards and by means of thepin 45, which projects into the opening 45 in one end of the bar 4| todraw the latter in the same direction.

A nail-retaining rod 52, which has one end fixedly secured in an opening53 in the extension I2, by means of screws 54, and its opposed enddisposed in an opening 55 in the bar-retaining plate 43, extendscentrally above and in adjacent parallelism with the space between theplates. The rod 52 is adapted for preventing nails sliding down thenail-race from being forced upwards out of the space between the platesI I.

59 designates a portion of the wall of the recess 22 extending obliquelyacross the line of travel of the picker bar 4I, which wall portion isadapted to be engaged by the nail in the notch 42 during the outwardlongitudinal movement of the said bar, for forcing it out of the notchand thereby permitting it to drop into the recess 22.

In the margin of the lower end of one of the plates II is cut-out 56,which is intended to provide room for the movement of the nails as theyare forced out of the notch 42 and into the recess 22.

In the modification shown in Figs. 19, 20 and 21, there is provided anail-retaining plate 51, one portion of which has an opening 58 throughwhich projects one of the screw-bolts 44 whereby it is secured to theouter face of the bar-retaining plate 43, the other portion thereofoverlies the cut-out 58. The function of the plate 51 is to prevent anynail while being forcibly ejected from the notch 42 by striking againstthe oblique wall surface 59, from being accidently projected upwardsthrough the cut-out 56.

60 indicates a guard pin projecting horizontally through one of the lugsI4 into the recess 22 a distance such that it will be engaged by thenail in event the latter is accidently forced too great a distance inthe direction of the plates I I during its ejection from the notch 42 byengagement with the oblique Wall portion 59.

The driving pin 29 is adapted to fit sufiiciently tight in the opening6I, extending axially into the lower end of the plunger 28, to beretained in its proper position therein during the operation of themachine, but removable therefrom when proper force is applied thereto inevent it is required for replacement with a new pin, which requirementmay be occasioned by wear or breakage of the old pin, or in event it isdesired to remove the latter for any other reason. To facilitate suchremoval of the driving pin, there is provided an opening '62 extendingtransversely through the plunger 28 and intersecting with the upper endof the opening 6|, in which transverse opening 62 is disposed across-pin 63, in the lower mid portion of which is an indentation 64 inwhich projects and seats the upper end of the driving pin 29, which byreasonof its projection into said indentation will be caused to moveslightly longitudinally downwards by said cross-pin when the latter isforcibly projected longitudinally out of said transverse opening 62.Further downward movement of the driving pin 29 may thereafter beeffected by inserting one end of an appropriate tool, such, forinstance, as a punch, in the opening 62 for engagement with the pin, andthen employ the tool in the manner of a pry fulcrumed against the uppermargin of said opening. Obviously, the said tool must have suflicientplay in the opening 62 to' permit of its use as a pry. The driving pinmay then be readily removed by engaging with appropriate means thatportion thereof projecting below the lower end of the plunger 28.

The seating of the upper end of the driving pin 29 in the indentation64, is also intended to limit longitudinal movement of the cross-pin 63in the opening 52 and thereby prevent it from projecting outwards beyondthe face of the plunger where it might interfere with the propermovement of the latter by scoring the wall of the bore 24, or otherwise.

The reference character 65, Fig. 5, indicates the heads of a smallcluster of nails suspended by their heads between the plates H.

The driving pin 29 during the downward movement of the plunger 28 isadapted to engage the head of the nail deposited in the opening 26during the last previous cycle of operation of the machine and projectit a proper and prearranged distance into the flooring, or other work,operated on.

The positioning die 25 is removable from the opening 24, and severaldies of various stem lengths are preferably provided for each machine,thus permitting of the selection of a nose member corresponding inlength to that required for driving nails flush with the upper surfaceof the flooring (Figs. 10-, 17) or of a. nose member shorter than thatportion of the driving pin extending below the plunger 28. In the latterinstance the driving pin would obviously project some distance below thenose member when the plunger is seated in the concavity 21 and the nailsdriven would be projected below the upper surface of the flooring.

To operate the present machine: A suitable supply of nails to be drivenis deposited in the hopper 9, which nails by reason of the vibrations ofthe machine during the operation thereof gravitate from the hopper tothe chute l and through the slot I6 to the race plates ll, thence intothe space therebetween and suspended by their heads from said plates. Inthis suspended position the nails slide along down to the lower ends ofthe plates l i into contact with the notch M in the bar 4|. With thenail now in the notch t2, the plunger 28 is by a single stroke of theoperating mallet or hammer directed against the head 28% projecteddownwards to seat in the concavity 21. In this downward movement of theplunger, its lower beveled portion engages and forces the ball 50outwards against the spring al causing the latter and the picker bar 4|connected thereto to move in the same direction. The said movement ofthe picker bar causes the nail heretofore deposited in the notch 52 andcarried along with the bar to abruptly engage the oblique wall portion59 and to thereby be forced out of said notch to drop into the opening23 where it engages the side of the plunger whereby it is halted untilthe next upward movement of the plunger when it passes through the bore2 3 into the opening 26 in the nose member 25. During the retraction ofthe plunger towards its normal or uppermost position under the influenceof the spring 38, and its lower end has passed clear of the opening 23,the nail mentioned as having been temporarily halted therein by engagingthe plunger, now slips through the bore 24 into the opening 26, and asthe plunger proceeds to rise to its said normal or uppermost position,the ball 55! retreats inwards impelled by the spring 41 to move the barM longitudinally backwards into its normal position with the notch 42 inalignment with the space between the plates I l, which movement andretraction of said parts and the re-alignment of the notch 52 with saidspace, now permits or causes the lowermost nail now in said space tofall into said notch.

The movement of the plunger 28 from its normal or uppermost position toits lowermost position and return to said normal or uppermost position,constitutes one complete cycle of operation of the machine, and duringeach of said. cycles a nail is normally intended to be driven into theobject worked upon.

I claim:

1. In a nailing machine of the character de scribed, a machine headhaving a bore extending vertically therethrough, a nose member in thelower end of said bore, a plunger vertically movable in said bore andseatable against said nose member for limiting the vertical movement ofsaid plunger in one direction, a spring secured to one side of saidhead, and means disposed in an opening in said side coactable with saidplunger and engageable with said spring whereby a certain verticalmovement of said plunger will cause said means to engage and deflectsaid spring.

2. A machine head having a bore extending vertically therethrough, aplunger vertically movable in said bore, said plunger having alongitudinally extending groove, an L-shaped member having its lowerextremity resiliently connected to said head and its upper extremitydisposed in said groove, said member adapted for limiting thelongitudinal movement of said plunger in one direction and a coil springfor impelling said plunger upwards as far as it is normally intended togo.

3. In a nailing machine of the character described, a nail racecomp-rising a pair of plates disposed in lateral spaced parallelism, anda nail chute disposed above said race and fixedly secured thereto, saidnail race having ambilateral out-outs adjacent its mid portion, saidcut-outs registering vertically with an opening in the bottom of saidnail chute.

4. In a nailing machine of the character described, in combination, a,plunger having a longitudinally extending opening in its lower endportion, a transversely extending opening intersecting with the upperend of said first named opening, a cross-pin disposed in saidtransversely extending opening, said cross-pin having an indentation inits mid portion, and a driving pin disposed in said longitudinallyextending opening and having its upper end disposed in said indentation,the axis of said cross pin extending at right angles to the axis of saiddriving pin.

5. In a machine of the character described, a machine head, a plungerlongitudinally vertically movably supported by said head, an L- shapedmember having one end portion disposed in a vertically extending groovein said plunger and having its opposite end portion secured to a springconnected to said head, said L-shaped member and spring cooperating toprovide means for resiliently limiting upward movement of said plungerrelative to said head.

6. In a nailing machine of the character described, in combination, amachine head having a bore extending vertically therethrough, a plungerlongitudinally slidable in said bore, said plunger having a transverselyextending opening in its midportion, a cross-pin confined Wholly withinthe limits of said transversely extending opening, whereby said plungeris permitted unstricted longitudinal movement in said bore whiledisposed in close juxtaposition to the inner surface thereof, saidplunger having a longitudinally extending intersecting with saidtransversely extending opening, and a driving pin in said longitudinallyextending opening, the upper end of said driving pin disposed in anindentation in said cross-pin.

JEAN A. PROCHIETTE.

